Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1931)

June 2 7, 1931 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 35 I^ASSINS IN REVIEW This department does not attempt to predict the public's reactions to pictures. It does, instead, present detailed and accurate information on product, together with the frank and honest opinion of the reporter. Five Star Final (First National) Drama " Five Star Final," the stage success written by Louis Weitzenkorn, has been brought to the screen as a smashing drama with plenty of punch, if the marked reaction of a Forum preview audience is any criterion. Time after time bursts of applause greeted the efforts of the players, all of whom were excellent. Comments from the audience following the showing gave much credit to director Mervyn LeRoy for his intelligent handling of the story, which was written and adapted for the screen by Byron Morgan and Robert Lord. Their work also drew praise. The story, which is a startling expose of yellow journalism, deals with the wrecking of a happy family through the mercenary attacks of a newspaper publisher whose demands are for sensational news, regardless of type. His ultimate aim is more circulation. Oscar Apfel is the publisher and Edward G. Robinson his managing editor. H. B. Warner, Frances Starr, Marion Marsh and Anthony Bushell comprise the ones most affected by the attack of Apfel's newspaper. This attack, which causes, eventually, the suicide of Warner and Miss Starr, comes through the printing of a serial bringing to light a murder committed by Miss Starr twenty years before. The daughter, Marion Marsh, is unaware of her mother's real identity until the story breaks, and her marriage to Bushell is almost stopped. The cast was so well balanced no one person stood out. Robinson, H. B. Warner, Miss Marsh, Bushell and Miss Starr were especially well received by the audience. Others whose work was most impressive were George E. Stone, Ona Munson, Oscar Apfel, Purnell Pratt, Robert Elliott, Evelyn Hall, Boris Karloft'. Aline MacMahon, David Torrence, Gladys Lloyd and Harold Waldridge. The audience reaction was such that the picture is likely to be remembered for some time to come, for the patrons pronounced it to be cracker jack screen entertainment. Produced and distributed by Warner Bros. -First Xational. Original play by Byron Morgan. Adaptation by Robert Lord. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Art director, Jack Okey. Film editor, Frank Ware. Photographed by Sol Polito. CAST Randall Edward G. Robinson Jenny Townsend Marion Marsh Ziggie Feinstein George E. Stone Kitty Carmody Ona Munson Brannegan Robert Elliott French Purnell Pratt Hinchecliffe Oscar Apfel Mrs. Weeks • Evelyn Hall Michael Townsend H. B. Warner Phillip Weeks Anthony Bushell Xancv (\'orhees) Townsend Frances Starr Isopod Boris Karloff Miss Taylor Aline MacMahon Mr, Weeks David Torrence Miss Edwards Gladys Lloyd Arthur Goldberg Harold Waldridge Full of Notions C Radio ) Comedy Audiences may chuckle, audiences may titter, but whea they howl with laughter, as they did at the Fairfax theatre, Oakland, it's quite likely that the picture being shown is funny. As a matter of fact, Wheeler and Woolsev never have been funnier than they are in "Full of Notions," everybody there agreed. A Bright Film Spot! William A. Johnston, writing editorially in The Hollywood Herald, on First National's "Five Star Final" declares, "The light of it should illumine the whole production horizon. It proves the inherent power of the talking picture; it shows what can be done, and may be done. The recipe isn't mysterious. A good story was picked, a story of downto-earth emotions, of action, of realism, because it was created by a man who knew his people and their lives, hopes and environment . . . But, after all, it is the story that predicates everything; and it is the story that inspires top-notch effort all the way along the production line." As two stranded vaudeville "hams," they arrive by freight in a little mid-western town. While riding on a street car, on a two-day-old transfer, they sympathize with a sweet-faced old woman (Lucy Beaumont) and convince her that they are just the boys to save her drug store, about to be taken for a debt she owes the villainous slicker, Jason Robards. The situations from that point on brought laugh after laugh from an audience that beamed as it left the theatre. Robert Woolsey with his ever-present cigar and gags brought so many hearty guffaws that at times the audience drowned out the following lines. Bert Wheeler gave him a close race for honors, however, in his role as the feeder of the team. A round of applause greeted Dorothy Lee's appearance on the screen and her performance in this brought an ovation for her at the close of the story. Jason Robards was as convincing as the villain as he once was as a hero. His role in this is much like that he played in a previous film, that of the greedy trader using sympathy as a mask for his "evil intentions." To Josephine Whittell, the former stage star, went one of the funniest scenes in the picture. She and Woolsey brought down the house with their scene at the book counter. "Full of Notions" is Douglas MacLean's first solo original. Two good song numbers as interludes were enjoyed by the audience. Produced and distributed by Radio Pictures. Associate producer, Douglas MacLean. Storv by Douglas MacLean. Screen play and dialogue by Ralpy Spence. Directed by William S'eiter. Photographed by Jack McKenzie. Art director. Max Ree. Sound recording by P. J. Faulkner, Jr. CAST Egbert Higginbotham Robert Woolsey Peggy Morton Dorothy Lee Watters Jason Robards Slint Charles Middleton Miss Loring Nora Cecil Tommy Tanner Bert Wheeler Mother Tally Lucy Beaumont Chief Morton DeWitt Jennings Clarke Bill Scott Miss Newton Josephine Wliittell The Skin Came (British International) Drama This latest offering from the Elstree studios, London, did not seem to impress the audience viewing it at the Little Carnegie Playhouse in New York. Patrons became restless during the showing, due undoubtedly to the length of the picture and the involved situations which one finds in John Galsworthy stories. Because of these involved situations it was difficult at times to follow the theme of the picture. Alfred Hitchcock, who adapted and directed the feature, had a difficult task on his hands, and as a consequence this is not his best picture by any means. "The Skin Game" is the story of a family feud between the Hillcrists and the Hornblowers, a hatred which was aroused when Hornblower, the industrialist, built his pottery works near the old manorial home of the Hillcrists, which had been owned and occupied by the family for centuries. As Hornblower seeks a beautiful plot of grotjnd overlooking the Hillcrist home, the situation becomes tense. Not even the Hillcrist daughter and the Hornblower son, who have been lovers since childhood, are able to pacify their parents. The climax is reached when the Hillcrists learn a piece of scandal involving the wife of the older son of the Hornblowers. To keep the Hillcrists quiet, old Hornblower sells them at a low figure the beautiful plot of ground. Having accomplished his purpose, despite the methods used, old Hillcrist becomes distressed. "When we went into this fight," he said, "we had clean hands. Are they clean now? What is gentility worth if it cannot stand fire?" So ends the story. Produced by British International Pictures. Distributed by Wardour. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Photographed by J. J. Cox. Running time, 85 minutes. Mr. Hillcrist C. V. France Mrs. Hillcrist Helen Haye Jill Jill Esmond Mr. Hornblower Edmund Gwenn Charles John Longden Chloe Phyllis Konstam Rolf Frank Lawton Mr. Jackman > Herbert Ross Mrs. Jackman Dona Gregory First Stranger R. E. Jeffrey Second Stranger George Bancroft Dawker Edward Chapman Auctioneer Ronald Frankau The Lure of Hollywood (Educational) Comedy A comedy number picturing the trials and tribulations which extras go through in attempting to achieve something or other in Hollywood. Just as two girls are about to return home, unsuccessful, they are hired. But they are fired when their boy friend becomes jealous of the attentions being paid them by the leading man, and proceeds to hurl innumerable pies at him. Bryant Washburn plays the receiver of the pies as leading man. William Goodrich directed. — Running time, 20 minutes.